If she runs, Palin would be the frontrunner. If she doesn't
run, she would be the Party's most important kingmaker.

She certainly is sounding more and more bullish on a run.
From when I began talking with her about a story more than
three months ago till two days ago when I last exchanged
e-mails with her, she has sounded increasingly interested in
running. And if she doesn't she's going to be awfully bored
next year: her speaking engagements have tapered off (as with
other potential candidates, like New Gingrich, the Washington
Speakers Bureau warns clients that these speakers may not be
able to fulfill their contracts if they decide to run); her
book tour has ended; her TLC series is ending soon. Palin
plans a foreign trip early next year, tentatively planned to
England and Israel amongst other countries – a must for
presidential wannabes. But after that, her schedule, thus
far, is clear.

But Palin thinks Obama is vulnerable, and she implies that she is
the one to take him on. "In battleground states, he's polling at
40% or below," she notes. "The country is rejecting his agenda
... My vision of America is diametrically opposed to his. He sees
America as the problem. I see America as the solution." Asked
what she makes of Obama's presidency thus far, Palin quipped,
"Two words: Jimmy Carter." Asked who can beat him, she needed
seven more: "Someone who can draw a sharp contrast."